denninger



(NoModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. P. DENNINGER PIANO CASE.

No. 416,581. Patented Dec. 3, 1889.

N. PETERS, Pbmwumo rapher. w'a-mng m'c.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(Nd Model.)

F. DENNINGER.

PIANO CASE.

No. 416,581. Patented Dec. 3. 1889.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK DENNINGER, OF NEXV YORK, N. Y.

PIANO-CA8 E.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 416,581, dated December 3, 1889.

Application filed February 2, 1889. Serial No. 298,540. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK DENNINGER, of

the city, county, and State of New York, have.

invented certain new and useful Improvements in Piano-Cases, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a case for an upright piano; and it consists particularly in so construct-ing the same that the space therein which is not occupied by the movement and other parts of the piano may be utilized for the reception of other articles, and also so that access may be easily had to the interior of the piano, and the parts of the case may bereadily taken apart when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 represents a front View of my improved case with all the parts closed. Fig. 2 is a sectional side view taken on the line moo a: of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view from above on the line y y y of Fig. 1, with the top pigeon-holes and lower receptacles removed. Fig. 4 is a sectional side view, with the top and the bottom receptacles removed, of a modified use of mycase. Fig. 5 is aback view, partly in section, of my improved sounding-board. Fig. 6 shows a modification of the arrangement for attaching the key-board arm. Fig. 7 shows the projections or hook Z on the arm J. Fig. 8 shows a modification of the bottom for the case, and Fig. 9 shows the positions of my improved lid and top when open.

A A are the ends of my improved case, which are made in the usual way, except that, as hereinafter explained, it is not necessary to veneer the upper edge when veneered ma terial is used, or to varnish the same, as hereinafter explained. The ends A A are firmly attached to and hold between them the sounding-board B, having, in addition to the frame I) b b, the stiles c c c, the strengthening-ribs cl (1 d, and the board 0, the additional board 0, which covers the whole of the back of the sounding-board frame, serving to protect the sounding-board from injury, while at the same time it increases the volume and the sweetness of tone of the instrument by its own qualities and by the hollow space between it and the board 0. I find that the volume and quality of tone are also increased by making openings, as d cl, in the sounding-board 0, preferably one opening between each two ribs 61 cl. Clamps P similar to those hereinafter described, for attaching the legs and arms may be used to secure the ends and sounding-board firmly together and to the inside bottom board D.

The top E is held in place by the dowelpins 6 e, fitting into the ends A, (see Fig. 3 and dotted lines, Fig. 2,) and can readily be removed. It may have an ornamental holding or scroll-work F around it, if desired, which will addto the beauty of the instrument, which feature cannot be applied to the old style of hinged top, on account of the top being raised up and folded. This arrangement also affords ample room to place orna- Inents upon the top of the case and at the same time open the top withoutdisturbing them.

The front part E of the top E slides in a rabbet f in the ends of the top E, and canbe pushed back, thus leaving the top open for greater volume of music when the instrument is being played.

The front G turns upon the pivots g g, and can be let down, (dotted lines Fig. 2,) exposing the interior of the case. It is held in place when closed by any suitable catches, as g g, and can be made in one piece or in separate sections, as 9 which has independent pivots, and can be opened without disturbing the rest of the front, if desired. Between the front of a piano-case and the movement there is a certain amount of unused space, which is increased with the width of the case. here this space is sufiicient to warrant, it may be used for any ordinary purposes of a cabinet by the insertion of pigeonholes or shelves, as 1, (preferably for articles which will neither rattle nor will deaden the tone of the instrument.) The movable front will afford access thereto, and can be made in part of glass, or with a mirror, if desired. One use is shown at 9 where an opening is made, through which a watch placed in a watch-rest, at 71, can be seen by one playing the instrument. When the front is let down, it can be used as awriting-desk, and can have a pad or portfolio attached to it, like an ordinary desk, if desired.

The key-board arms J J are attached to the ends A A by means of the hook-like projections Z Z, which fit into the sockets Z Z in the ends A A, and the arm on projecting too through the socket n and firmly clamped in place by the pivoted b utton-like lever p, which operates against the inclined surface of the socket n. The lever p can be turned up, so as to pass through the socket n, Fig. (5, and then turned against the rear edge of the socket until the parts are firmly clamped together. A modified arrangementof the position of the parts is shown in Fig. 6, where the clamp is placed below instead of behind the arm. By this means I am enabled to readily remove the arms when I wish to do The key-board lid K isconnected with the sliding top E by means of the rods 7.: 7c, so that when the lid K is pushed back the lower end of the rod ]t' is swung back and its upper end engaging with the lower end of the rod 7r: swings the rod 71' upon pivot 7& throwing back its upper end, which presses against the sliding top E and moves it back, and when the lid K is pulled forward and closed the motion is reversed and the top E is slid forward, closing the top of the case. The arrangement of rods is the same at each end of the piano.

K is a lid sliding in grooves in the arms J J and having attached to its lower surface the cam-like projections 0 which engage with the end 0 of the lever 0 pivoted at 0*. The forward end of this lever engages with the lock-slip G which travels in vertical grooves in the arms J J. \Vhen the lid K is shoved back, the end 0 of the lever 0 travels along the inclined surface of the cam-block 0 allowing the lever to swing on its pivot 0 dropping its forward end, and with it the lock-slip G which passes down between the keyslip and the keys until it is level with the keyslip. The key-slip and lock-slip may be made of thin material, if preferred, so as not to occupy more space than common.

A pillar or molding 0 maybe placed upon the forward edge of the lid K to add to the appearance of the case, strengthen the lid, and serve as a music-rack when the lid is shoved back, as it will hold in place any music which is set upon the lid behind it. By this means I am able to dispense with any of the usual forms of music-racks and the expense and labor of attaching them.

The key-blocks may be cut away sufficiently to allow of the operation of the lovers C and the parts on each end of the case may be made similarly to give uniformity and smoothness of movement.

The legs L L are in the usual form, except that instead of the shoe M M,.to which the ends A A are attached, projecting under the legs L L, in the 'usual manner, they terminate at the edges of the ends A A, and the legsL L are made longer and heavier, so as to extend down even with the bottoms of the endsAA, to which they are firmly attached by means of one or more arms NN, which may be of wood iron, or other suitable material, and which project through the sockets O O. The rear edge of each socket O inclines outward at the bottom and presents an inclined surface to the button-lever P, so that when the button-lever P is turned down it clamps the leg firmly into place. A dowel-pin q beneath the arm J (dotted lines, Fig. 2) may project into a longitudinal groove (1 in the upper edge of the log L to serve as a guide, if desired, and an inclined tongue q" on the end A may be made to lock into a groove 1 in the leg L to give greater solidity to the parts.

Beneath the key-board and in front of the strings there is considerable unused space, which varies with the depth of case. I divide this space into suitable compartments with doors, as R S T, to form receptacles for the ordinary uses of a cabinet, for the reception of music, books, &c., or a small fireproof safe may be inserted, as shown at R, to hold articles of value, &c. The whole case rests upon a bottom V, of wood or other suitable material, to which the casters n l are fixed. This case is secured to the bottom V by means of screws, as u a, or other suitable devices, and the bottom presents a uniform and even surface for the parts of the case to rest upon; but can be readily dctached from the case by withdrawing the screws a a. This bottom may be made of metal and have an overhanging edge, Fig. 8, to add to its appearance and strength. It also serves as a pedal and frame guard and to support the performcrs heels and to protect the lower portions of the case.

V V constitute an improved pedal-guard, of metal or other suitable material, which is secured to the lower edge of the front by screws, as '0 1- or other suitable devices. A recess or groove 1" in the part V embraces a tongue on the part V thus holding the part V firmly in place and forming a guard which will protect the ease-back from the heels and toes of the PGTfOIIl'lGl.

My case is so arranged that by removing the movement, iron frame, and strings of the piano it may be converted into a secretary, Fig. at, the pigeon-holes I being made larger to occupy the whole space in the upper part of the case, and secret compartments, as I, may be constructed in its lower part, which can only be reached by lifting the whole set of pigeon holes up and out of the case. The lid K may be replaced by a lid K and a drawer 1' partly drawn out in Fig. 4-. The movements of a musical box \V or other automatic musical instruments may be inserted and fastened directly upon the soundingboard, whereby the volume of in usic is greatly increased. It may be set in motion by means of thelever 20, inserted instead of the pedals Y.

The adjustable features of my improved case are applicable, also, to cabinet-organs and similar musical instruments.

\Vhen my case is put together, it presents substantially the appearance of an ordinary piano-case; but it has many important advantages. The top of the sides A A, being covered and concealed by the top E, need not IIO be varnished nor veneered when veneered material is used, which is a saving of labor and expense.

The parts of the top E can be made and finished separately, which insures finer work and finish, and then be put together, and this can be readily applied to or removed from the body of the case, being held in place by the dowel-pins, as described; also, the other movable parts, as the arms J J, the legs L L, the front G, compartments R S T, &c., can each be made and finished before being put in place, which is a great saving of labor, skill, and expense, and insures greater perfection of finish, for the difficulty of polishing the interior anglesas, for instance, at zis avoided by finishing the parts separately when only plain surfaces are presented, which are much easier to finish, as is well known. The finished parts also occupy much less space in a store-room and can be more conveniently stored before being put together. Again, by my construction I am enabled to separate from the case the top pigeon-holes I, cover K, (which is applied in the usual manner,) key-board and movement, key-board arms, legs, and bottom, and receptaclesR S T, so that nothing but the rectangular case, the sounding-board, strings, and-their frame, shall remain, thereby greatly reducing the weight of the instrument and also reducing its width about one-half. The ends, sounding-board, and bottom may also be readily separated, if desired, even when this is not done.

The instrument is so reduced in size and weight that it can be readily carried through narrow passages, doorways, and stairways, making it much lighter and easier to handle and obviating the necessity of hoisting through windows and other dangerous and expensive expedients to get the instrument into apartments where the stairways will not allow it to be carried on account of its width. By my construction, also, I am enabled to dispense with a bottom rail and with dovetailing the bottom rail into the shoes and doweling the frame into the bottom rail, as my improved foot-guard will hold the front securely in place. This is a considerable saving of labor and expense, and the parts are more easily put together, while the pedal-guard, which can be of any suitable and attractive pattern, adds much to thebeauty of the instrument.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. The combination, with an upright-piano case, of an adjustable key-board arm J, provided with the rearwardly-projecting arm m,

the lever 9, pivoted to said arm, and the inclined socket 12, secured to the case, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination,with:an upright-piano case provided with the sockets at Z Z of an adjustable key-board arm provided with projections Z Z, arm on, and lever 19, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination,with an upright-piano case provided with the socket O, of an adjustable leg provided with the arm N and button P, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. The combination, with a case, of the sliding lid K, provided with the cam projection 0 the lever C and the lock-slip C substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination, with a case, of a sliding lid portion so connected with a vertical lid portion that the vertical. portion shall be automatically lowered when the sliding portion is pushed back and raised when the sliding portion is pulled forward, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

6. The combination, with a case, of the sliding top portion E, rods 70, and sliding lid K, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

7. The combination, with a piano-case, of the movable front, the receptacles I behind said front, the sounding-board at the rear of the case, and a space for the sound-producing mechanism intermediate between said receptacles and sounding-board, substantially as set forth.

8. The combination, with a piano-case, of stationary receptacles formed inside the front of the lower part of the case below the keyboard, and Verticallyswinging doors hinged to the case in front of said receptacles, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

9. The combination, with a piano-case, of the horizontally-sliding portion E of the top, and the horizontally-sliding key-board cover K, coupled together and adapted to slide simultaneously in parallel planes, substantially as set forth.

10. The combination, with a piano-case, of the sliding portion E of the top, the sliding key-board cover K, and the inclined levers it it, pivoted to the case, with their opposite ends hinged to said sliding pieces, and with their adjacent ends operatively connected together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

FRANK DENNINGER.

Witnesses:

JAMES A. BLANCHARD, W. D. NEILLEY. 

